1 September 2009                                                                                                                           
Dear Parents:

Thank you for a great start to this school year.  As I mentioned at our Open House three weeks ago, it is so gratifying to all of us to have your faith in our work as we partner to raise this group of terrific youngsters.
Please check our school’s website regularly for announcements and events.  If you do not have access to the website and if you prefer to receive a hard copy of these newsletters, please call Mrs. Harmonii Nicholson in the main office and let her know. 

If you have not yet turned in your student’s paper work, please do so as soon as possible.  We must have our records in order for an inspection by both the Health Department and the Department of Public Instruction, non-public school division no later than this Friday.

Already we have seen a “bug” begin to spread in school.  Although the tests reported to us by the parents of some of the ill children reveal no H1N1 yet, this bug is a formidable virus.  Again, please keep your students home at the onset of any illness, and please keep them home until twenty-four hours have passed after the last symptoms. 
Next Monday is a holiday, and we will have no classes.  I appreciate your not beginning vacation before 3PM this Friday.  We will have afterschool care for both Preschool and Lower School that afternoon.

Please remind our honored guests, our Grandparents, of their special day at our school the following Monday, 14 September.    We’ll begin at 8.30AM and after our short program, our grandparents will have the opportunity to visit the classrooms until 10.00AM.

Thank you for your help on our fundraising thus far.  Please turn in the $100 Charger Card monies as soon as possible.  Sally Foster sales will begin shortly.  Remember that each student is responsible for selling $125 of products.  If you would like to opt out of these sales, please remit $65 per child in lieu of participation.  Our last big fundraiser of the year will occur on Saturday, 21 November.  Each family will need to buy (or sell) one ticket to the event.  Each ticket is $250 and allows two people entrance, with dinner, libations and dance, to the best fundraiser in town!  More details will be forthcoming.

Upper School parents: please be advised that our grades 9-11 will take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test on Wednesday, 14 October.  While frosh and sophomores take this test for practice, the juniors take it “for real.”  All students will need to bring in $20 for the test.  We will observe a special schedule that day, and seniors will have that morning off. 

Also for the Upper School, the New England college trip registration deadline is this Friday.  The opportunity to explore colleges and universities in this region will not come again for at least three years, so do consider this trip.  Details are available in the main office.

Our modular classroom for the 2 1/2K and 3K program has arrived!  We hope that by the end of this week, Mrs. Holloman and Mrs. Davenport will be able to move into their new “digs.”  Again, I want to thank everyone for their patience and generosity during this transition.  We hope to have a settlement with the insurance company within the next couple of weeks.  I will keep you posted on these developments.

Again, many thanks for this great start.  I know this is going to be a great year!

Sincerely,